The Adventures of KJ & The Dreamy Giraffe

Adventure #162: KJ's Flight School

Dear You,

It still amazes me -- even though I've painted 8970987987 (approximately) paintings--  how you can start out in the morning with something that's only in your head, something that doesn't actually exist, and with the help of a blank canvas, some paintbrushes, paint and a bit of time -- you have created something real and tangible that you can show others and say "Here, look what I did!"

So, hey, guys, here, look what I did:

Seriously, the process is still sort of magical to me. Like I know I painted this. I know 39870987987 (approximately) brush strokes went into it.  I vaguely recall at one point thinking "ARRGH!" (because I am half-pirate, doncha know?*) and "I am NEVER going to finish this" but even with those facts, it sort of seems that the paintings just kind of...appear.

And they rarely show up just as they were in my head. This one, for instance. From the moment I had the idea several months ago, the background was a cream or maybe a light lemony yellow and her hair was going to be a mane of rainbow pastels (something I still really want to try!) and the rest of the colors were muted and dreamy.

Of course, I should know by now I don't have a muted bone in my body. They're all very bright, some even neon, I'm afraid.

It became evident as soon as I had her face painted that she needed to be a dark haired gal and I didn't want to go with anything traditional so I decided to do a blue-black -- however, for future reference, when going for blue-black, lay down the blue, then add in black lowlights, because if you do the blue first, you do not wind up with blue-black. You wind up with black.

Also, in my head, the text said "She was the type of girl who tied on wings and prepared for takeoff", but in the middle of the painting I thought of this wording and liked it better.

She didn't turn out how I'd initially envisioned her at all -- but I think she turned out just the way she should be. And that's kind of like life, huh?

She will be in the shop later today, both as a print and the original.

Love,

Adventure #161: Oops, KJ Yarted

Dear You,

The 2nd Annual Yart Sale is currently taking place on Etsy. It began yesterday and will go on through Sunday.

I will admit that I didn't participate during the first Yart Sale, I didn't participate, mostly solely because one of my pet peeves is when people combine two words (in this case Yard + Art, as it's basically the premise of a yard sale, only for art...and online) to make one. Like -- you will never in your life hear me refer to Brad & Angelina as Brangelina. As an American Idol fan, a couple of weeks ago, I actually came thisclose to screaming everytime I heard the term "guyliner". And seeing "Yart" pop up all over Etsy last summer nearly drove me insane. I couldn't make my own fingers type it out or put it in my shop.

Yep, I'm silly.

Also, back then, my stance on sales as a businessperson was different -- I just really didn't do them or think they were a good idea. (And, yeah, I now think that was silly, too!)

So, anyway, for a while, I've been aware that over in my studio, packed up and stored away, were dozens and dozens and dozens of old pieces of art, from when I seriously started painting four or five years ago but before I started selling. And, yes, more silliness from me -- I hadn't even consider selling it the vast majority of it, because my style was a bit different and my skills were...not as developed as they are today...and clearly my attention to detail wasn't as perfectionistic back then (probably because back then it didn't occur to me that anyone other than my friends or family might be seeing my paintings!)

For the past few months, I'd started toying with the idea of offering some of it and fairly low prices, because art shouldn't be stored away where no one can see it and maybe, you know, though some of those pieces don't exactly make me beam with pride, SOMEONE might enjoy them. And, you know, though I can acknowledge that I've come quite a long way and my work today is so much better...these pieces are a part of my history as an artist. Each of these painting brought my work to where it is today. So I guess even if I look at this one and cringe at the shading (OMG, did I paint it with the LIGHTS OFF?!?) or the color choices on that one (Did someone put a gun to my head and FORCE me to go with that green and I just don't remember it?), I should be proud of them. Because ten years ago, I would've told you -- and believed it -- that no way could I draw or paint people. No way.

Seeing where we started, and where other people started, is good...because it shows us how far we can go, if we don't give up, if we keep plugging away, letting practice make perfect (or almost perfect!).

So...to get to the point...I decided the Yart Sale (even though I still am not crazy about the word 'Yart') would be the perfect opportunity to start listing some of these old pieces.

There are some of them up now in my second Etsy shop, (opened a loooooong time ago but never used to sell a few of the pieces I did love, even though they were older) and I will be adding a LOT more today and what I don't get done today, tomorrow. If any of you are into ACEOs, you might want to check out the four listings I have for ACEO grab bags -- a dozen original ACEOs for $30.00!  In fact, there is a lot of original art available for less than $50.00!

I also have several more recent original paintings on sale in my main shop. There's a Yart Sale section there, so you can see what is on sale easily.

Here's a glimpse at some of what's on sale:

Talk to you soon!

Adventure #160: KJ Likes Boys

Dear You,

I do like boys! It's true. I just don't paint them very often. I've given my reasons for this in the past, but now, I think the only thing stopping me is that most of my ideas are very girly!

But every time I paint one, I think, "OH, my goodness, I must paint more boys!"

This is Olaf and his friend, Thor, who I originally intended to be a beluga whale but I went too gray with the color and he became more and more dolphinish but not quite, so we'll just say a beluga whale and a dolphin fell in love and had a baby and that baby was Thor.

 

I originally titled this one "I Will Understand (When You Must Go)" but have decided to shorten it to "I Will Understand" 'cause it's a bit less sad that way and more like a painting about friendship than a painting about goodbyes. 

Though I have to admit I started this painting, I had this Henry Rollins quote, which I'd stumbled upon the previous day, on my mind: "It's sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew."

It is indeed sad, so that's why you should always give people big hugs, like Olaf and Thor do, whenever you go in separate directions, no matter how brief the time apart may be.

(I had to reword that last sentence about 500 times to get it to not sound dreadfully depressing!)

I want to write a cute little story about Olaf and Thor but nothing's coming to me that feels natural yet.

The original has already sold, but there are prints in the shop!

Big hugs!

P.S. I totally originally typoed "big huts!" The longer I am away from an office job, the more my poor fingers forget their way around a keyboard.

Adventure #159: KJ Hates June

Dear You,

Okay, the subject of this post isn't EXACTLY true. I'm okay with June. Except, for you, the part about it being hot.  And the bugs. (But to be perfectly honest, summer is my least favorite season -- I love some fall and some winter!)

But, alas, June it is, and hopefully it'll be the best June that ever was.

Anyway, to me, nothing says June like the beach! So, here she is, June's painting, "Havin' A Ball".

 

This original is 9" x 12" and it's actually a mixed media piece. Can you find all of the mixed media elements?  (Answers below!)

I think sooner or later, this one will just HAVE to wind up as a postcard, but for now, she'll be available in the shop as a full size print!

Here's to the best June that ever was!

P.S.: Answers: The clouds are mulberry paper (embellished with paint), the sun is iridescent paper, the earrings and little baubles on her clips are rhinestones, the stars on her bathing suit are metallic card stock, the sand is glittered (& so much prettier in person!), and the beach ball is actually card stock (also embellished with paint). 

Adventure #158: KJ Does Makeovers, Part Dos

Dear You,

I'm almost done with the process of deciding what stays in the shop and what goes. And after making the tweaks to "Sometimes I Forget", I've definitely had my eyes open for other pieces that could use some sprucing!

My inner perfectionist is having a field day finding what she perceives to be flaws in some of my "best" pieces and being allowed to make improvements. I'm telling you: She is cackling with delight.

I get requests fairly often about making changes to prints and most of the time, the answer is that I just can't do it. Mostly people want eye color or hair color changed and that's just not something I'm comfortable with since, for me,  digitally altering with the hair and eye color almost always looks supremely wonky and out of place.  But I do enjoy tinkering with backgrounds and such.

This print is actually from a custom piece I did based on my previous painting, "Extraordinary". The lovely woman who commissioned me to paint it for her daughter loved the original painting but just wanted a different hairstyle and some color changes. The light lime green background worked really well on the actual painting...but somehow, it never quite translated in scans in a way I was head over heels with.

The original "Extraordinary":

The blonde version:

 

I found myself thinking, "Wouldn't a nice, light blue background make her eyes pop like crazy?" (which sounds kind of painful and not good, actually).  So the background became a sky and the floor became grass.

Before, I liked it. Now, I kind of LOVE it.

(I ordinarily do not sell prints of custom work, but in rare cases, where it is something not too personal or tied specifically to the buyer, I'll ask if they'd be okay with it and offer a discount on their painting if they are.)

I also made some minor changes to "I'm The Boss". I think she was perfectly fine as is and has been one of my strong sellers, but every time I printed it out, that bright pink around her arms just shrieked "BLOTCHY! BLOTCHY!" at me. So now, it's gone. :) Bye bye, blotch!

Before:

After:

Next time, I will have a brand new painting to show off...that is, unless my inner perfectionist wins out and I'm unveiling the new background to the original version of "Extraordinary". She's screeching to have a go at it, but I'm trying to convince her she's had enough fun for the time being!

See you soon,